PDR Procedure Page

These pages are designed as a guideline to educate technicians, adjusters, body shops and the general public on which procedures could be required to perform proper PDR repairs on a vehicle. These pages do not state that all procedures listed must be required at all times but instead give insight to the procedures that may need be required and should always be considered when requested by the technician repairing the vehicle.

VEHICLE CONDITION:
Estimate should be completed on a cleaned vehicle, indoors, and using professional PDR lighting equipment.

DETERMINING DENT SIZE:
When using the sizing coin/magnet, the edges of the dent must be inclusive of the size of the measured circles to be considered that specific size. If the edges of the dent damage exceed the size of the circle on the magnet, then the dent is counted as being the next size up and will not be estimated at the size down or smaller than the actual damage. The affected area is to be determined by the PDR Technician and may include surface area greater than that of the measured indentation.

DETERMINING DOUBLE PANEL AND/OR HEAVILY BRACED PANELS:
The vehicle will first be inspected to determine access difficulty. This should not be limited to roof rails, doors, and deck lids. This includes areas that are not typically involved in the discussion of double paneled areas. Front of hoods, tops of doors, door area underneath belt molding, quarter panels at front, and deck lids are often heavily braced. A panel is considered a heavily braced / and or a double panel when there is little to no direct access to the damaged area.

SPECIAL CAUTIONS:
Details of this guide are subject to the specifics of each situation. It is understood that no two dents, storms, or technicians are alike and should be evaluated on an individual basis. This includes but is not limited to variance in repair location, damage specific to each storm, previous damage to the location of current repair, and more. All claims should be assessed individually.

ESTIMATING EXPLANATION:
The necessities of the following procedures should be left to the discretion of the servicing PDR technician. The noted procedures may be needed to gain access to any damaged areas for the dent removal process to begin. Proper R&I techniques shall be used according to manufacturer’s specs. It is understood that the listed items below do not include: Dent removal, cleaning or preparing the panel, or circling/highlighting the damage for estimating purposes.

The finish of the vehicle is of vital importance in consideration of PDR as a viable method of repair. To obtain the desired end result of a quality PDR repair, paint must be in good condition. Factors that may prohibit complete auto-body factory condition restoration include (but are not limited to):

REMOVE & INSTALL PROCEDURES FOR HAIL DAMAGE REPAIR USING PDR METHOD:
R&I of any obstruction to enable visibility of repair area, on any vehicle, deemed necessary by a qualified technician, in order to gain access and/or leverage on the backside of the damaged area may incur additional expense.

Glass
Back glass on trucks should be considered for removal if any of the following criteria is met:
• Glass is a single pane
• Sliding glass window does not provide adequate access for a complete and proper repair
• Vehicle has a ribbed roof

The following R&I in the Included Operations sections should be considered standard operation needed for proper repair. The items listed in the Not Included Operations sections should not be considered standard and will be evaluated for additional cost.

HOOD:
To allow access for repair, the following items may need to be removed from the vehicle:

• Hood insulator pad
• Removing and securing the panel in a workable position • Replacing the panel to original position on vehicle upon completion of repair

LABOR TIMES:
Labor times should be used to estimate time needed to remove and

replace portions of the vehicle that cause obstruction to access points needed to repair damage. These items will vary depending on size/depth/location of the dents, vehicle age and condition, technician’s experience, equipment, vehicle make/model, etc. Labor rates default by regional location.

Due to the wide range of storm damage details and vehicle conditions, labor times for the following items can be added to an estimate. Additional items should not be limited to one per panel since many panels require multiple items be removed to gain access. Items that may incur additional repair costs and or R&I times include but are not limited to:

Dents that should not to be subject to the standard pricing
• Oversize – with minute increases in size of the damage the difficulty of repair increases exponentially. Half dollar, Egg, Tennis ball, Baseball, Softball, and Grapefruit; should all be evaluated as their own respective categories
• Multiple connected dents or one or more dents that fall in the affected area of another dent
• Sharp or deep dents
• Stretched dents
• Corner or edge dents
• Dents on tight radius, extra stiff curves
• Creases
• Dents on ribbed Roofs
• Dents on extended panels